|
|
 |
The art of cheesemaking
|
| Few countries in the world can boast a cheese tradition that rivals Italy's. Over the course of the centuries transforming milk into cheese has become a true art. Handed down from generation to generation, these skills have been codified in the production procedures of DOP (Denominazione d'Origine Protetta - Protected Designation of Origin) cheese manufacturers (companies authorized to certify their products with a prestigious mark of origin). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Let's begin our cheese tour in the the northern Alps with Fontina, the celebrated cheese from the Valle d'Aosta region, produced exclusively from the milk of local cows, both the black- and brown-spotted varieties. A very ancient type of cheese, it is clearly documented in the detailed market scenes depicted in the medieval murals that grace the walls of local castles. The main ingredient used to make fondue, its smooth, delicate flavor makes it the first choice for dishes that require a melted cheese.
Moving on to Piedmont region, the selection expands considerably, including cheeses made from cow's, goat's and sheep's milk. Two outstanding examples of the many fine cheeses found here are Murazzano, made from raw sheep's milk in the province of Cuneo, and the famous Robiola of Roccaverano, a certified DOP product made exclusively from goat's milk. This delicacy has truly ancient roots and was highly prized in the Middle Ages, as attested by any number of documents from the period. It holds its own with any of the similar and more celebrated French cheeses made from goat's milk. Incidentally, its name apparently comes from the Latin word, "robium", referring to the reddish color of its skin during the aging process. It should be eaten well-aged and is also excellent as a grating cheese, conferring a truly distinctive flavor, for example, to dishes like Spaghetti with eggplant and walnuts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BETWEEN BAGOSS AND ASIAGO |
|
|
No tour of Italian cheese country would be complete without a stop in the mountainous area around Brescia in the Lombardy region, the home of Bagoss, a cheese with a strong flavor, but not too sharp. They still make it using the same methods that were employed centuries ago, greasing the crust by hand with linseed oil so it can be aged up to 24 months. It should be tried grilled or simply as is, accompanied by a robust Lombard wine, like Buttafuoco. The flavors change radically as we move into the Veneto region further to the east, the home of Asiago, a semi-cooked cheese made from the milk of cows that have grazed the high meadows of the Asiago plateau. A traditional product characterized by a pleasing flavor, rich in grassy notes, it can be enjoyed fresh or aged - in the latter case it is excellent for grating.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE CLAY-RICH HILLS OF SIENNA |
|
|
Moving from the mountainous regions of the North to the Central Italian mountains, we discover the marvels of the argillaceous hills of Sienna, a region abounding in wines and gastronomic specialties. Here we find the Sienna Pecorino, a firm cheese with a rich straw-yellow color and a taste that you never seem to grow tired of.
Moving just a few kilometers further, we discover Marzolino, a cheese made from sheep's milk that used to only be made during the month of March (hence the name), when the pastures were particularly rich in nutritive substances and strong flavors. It can be recognized by its telltale round shape and reddish rind, although connoisseurs can always tell a Marzolino by its intense, characteristic flavor. It is great for stuffed pastas, mixed with sheep's milk ricotta or served with a fruit compote.
|
|
|
|
Leaving Tuscany for Abruzzo further to the south, it's well worth your while to devote some attention to a very special dairy product made from sheep's milk. We are, of course, referring to smoked ricotta, a product whose roots go back to the pastoral tradition of smoking the ricotta slowly over a smoldering fire of spicy juniper wood.
This process radically changes the flavor and makes it possible to age the cheese for several weeks. The final product is quite different from regular ricotta, having changed in both texture and flavor, taking on a rather pungent tang. But all you have to do is grate a little of this cheese over a simple dish of Tagliatelle in a fresh tomato sauce to appreciate the charm of this product, a current favorite of gourmets everywhere. If Abruzzo is dominated by its fine sheep's milk cheeses, the Campania region, which is further in the south, is known for its highly valuable buffalo-milk from which one of Italy's most popular "string" cheeses, mozzarella, is made. An increasingly popular DOP product, judging by the enormous success it has achieved throughout Italy, where it has become as common as ricotta, available even in husky smoked versions. Don't overlook this one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SOUTHERN ITALY'S CONTRIBUTION |
|
|
Another string cheese that deserves our attention is made in the Alburni Mountains, which are in the Campania and Basilicata regions. This cheese is called Caciocavallo and is made using the milk produced by a local breed of cattle, Podolica cows, dogged grazers of poor terrain that is, nevertheless, rich in aromatic grasses. And the master cheesemakers of Campania have managed to transfer all the gusto of these natural flavors into the their dense, yellow Caciocavallo.
People fond of Southern-Italian cheeses should be sure not to miss one of the true gastronomic treasures of Puglia, a cheese that has no crust and a rich, buttery core. Of course, we are referring to the delightful Burrata, once made from buffalo milk but now obtained by means of a special process from cow's milk. It must be consumed fresh (ideally within 48 hours) and unadorned, accompanied by no more that a slice of crusty Altamura bread and a sprinkling of black-pepper.
And to conclude our flavor tour, two island stops where we'll get to know Piacentinu and Fiore Sardo. The former is a pecorino which, despite its rather misleading name, is produced in the province of Enna in Sicily. It's distinguished by the myriad whole black pepper corns that dot its rich yellow body to which saffron has been added during the cheesemaking process.
This cheese is mentioned as far back as the 1500's by local chroniclers who remarked upon its great value due to the rare and precious spice it contained, at the time an almost exclusive prerogative of sellers of medicinal herbs.
The honor or representing Italy's other great Island, Sardinia, goes to Fiore Sardo, a cheese that probably owes its name to the old practice of using a vegetable rennin (which has since been replaced by sheep's or goat's rennin) to transform the milk into cheese.
It would constitute a disservice to try and describe the flavor, the degree of sharpness and the texture of the cheese, because each one has its own personality, aged as they are in the sunny pastures of Sardinia, and deserves to be enjoyed right where it's produced, "in the field", so to speak. But this great land has also produced Casizolu, a special string cheese made from the milk of Sardinia's own Sardo-Modicana cows. One more delightful surprise in the fascinating world of Italian cheeses with its infinite store of treasures, just waiting to be explored.
|
|
|
|
|
